The Couple Fighting on the 4th Floor
by youthestars
Summary: AU: Clara Oswald gets a job as a teacher at Coal Hill University and moves to London. She ends up in a magnificent place, with a not so magnificent neighbour. The chin boy next door enjoys spending his freetime terrorising the pretty brunette, but they both got everything under control. Right? No? What exactly is going on on the 4th floor? (Whoufflé fluff and humour. Lots of it.)
1. A Peace of Mind

**Chapter 1 - A Peace of Mind**

* * *

"How are you so bloody stupid?"

"How are you so bloody short?"

"That has absolutely nothing to do with this, _Doctor_." Clara snorted and rolled her eyes. "Why do people even call someone as stupid as you, Doctor? I'd prefer something in style of Donkey face or Chin boy."

The Doctor gasped, rubbing his chin in defence. "Oi! Chin boy? What's wrong with my chin?"

"Careful dear, you'll poke someone's eye out."

"At least I don't wobble about like a bloody penguin."

"Ugh, I can't stand you!" And with that being said, Clara turned on her heel and slammed the door to her flat shut. She groaned in frustration as she leaned against the door. "Every freaking time."

The Doctor grumpily mumbled something incoherent, before waving his hand off in annoyance in the direction Clara had been standing just a few seconds ago. "Impossible." Mumbling to himself again, he closed the door to his own flat. That girl was just impossible.

* * *

_A few days earlier_

The young woman stepped out of the car and onto the pavement. She looked up at the building in front of her. It was nice, actually it was more than nice. It was an old white building with black enrichments and bay windows. It had been modernized and looked like a fancy home for rich people. The woman, Clara Oswald, is neither fancy nor rich. She's a soon-to-be English teacher at Coal Hill University, a job she found out she had gotten just a few weeks ago.

Clara went and opened the trunk and began to unload the suitcases. She got her bag and jacket from the passenger seat and went to stand next to her four suitcases. Looking at them, she let out a heavy sigh. They looked awfully big standing next to her. Another sigh escaped her lips but she clasped her hands around the handles of two of the suitcases either way and dragged them both inside. She scanned the lobby and was relieved when she saw the elevator. There was a man behind a counter to the right who appeared to be the doorkeeper. He nodded at her with a smile which she returned with a smile of her own. Before he had a chance to speak she disappeared through the door to get the two other suitcases. She stepped outside and she noticed a man coming up the sidewalk. He was about to turn and enter the same building as her when he stopped and looked her over.

"You appear to be needing some help with that." The man spoke, cocking a curious eyebrow at the brunette. He carefully eyed her and her suitcases up and down, a goofy grin soon appearing on his just as goofy face.

"Fairly well noted." Clara said with a wide smile. "I've got two more inside, actually." She watched him approach with a grin.

He had a funny frame and a ridiculous bow tie wrapped around his neck. His nose and chin were quite big, but there was something charming about the way he looked. As he grabbed the handles of both the suitcases he spoke.

"These a pretty big for someone as small as you, don't you think?"

Clara raised her eyebrows at him in surprise as he pulled them inside with ease. She hadn't been offended or anything, she had just been startled for a mere second. It's not usually the kind of comment you say to someone you just met. The doorkeeper were swift on his feet and offered to help with the two other suitcases.

"Oh, actually, that's okay. I can manage those two-"

The doorkeeper smiled.

"Don't worry, it's my job."

Clara looked at his name tag, which read _Jack Wilson_. He was a fairly young, fairly beefy man. "Thank you." Then both men walked towards the elevator with her belongings. She wobbled after them and waited for it to arrive.

"Which floor?"

"Um, top floor, number four."

The man with the bowtie swirled around to stare at her. "Really?! You're _her_?"

Claras eyes widened as the elevator made a _ding_ and the doors opened in front of them.

"What _her_?"

"Maggie's niece? Wow, you're really not what I pictured, really not that much." He shook his head fast with a frown and stepped into the lift. Claras mouth hanged open as Jack went in after the bow tie and pressed the floor number. Frowning she stepped in and looked at the man. Now that was a little offending.

"How do you know my aunt Margaret, and why do you call her Maggie?"

"I'm her best man, BFF, life saver." He made a pause. "Neighbour." The man shrugged as if it was a matter of course and spoke fast and happily while Clara contemplated what to think of him. First impressions are always important, and usually always correct.

But right now she wasn't sure whether to excuse his commentaries as just blunt, oblivious speaking or plain rude. Now standing right next to him she noticed that he was also really tall. The elevator _dinged_ again and opened its doors to a bright hallway. Stepping out she noticed the two chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. She also noticed that there were only two doors, only a metre or two apart.

The man with the bow tie and the huge chin motioned towards one of the doors. "Eleven. That's my flat, right there."

Really. Seriously.

She was stuck with chin and his strange antics. Alone. On the fourth floor. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. With a sigh, she dug in her purse for the keys and unlocked her new flat. The doorkeeper hurriedly placed the bags inside, as did chin.

Jack, the doorkeeper flashed a charming smile Clara's way and for some reason she couldn't control the slight blush sneaking up on her cheeks. "Have a great day, Ms. If you need help with anything else, you know where to find me." He gave both of them a polite bow before making his way back to the elevator.

"So.. are you gonna invite me in, new neighbour?"

Clara raised an eyebrow at the only man left. "I don't think so, Mister."

"Why not?!" The man looked offended, almost horrified as if someone had just told him he looked like the arse of a donkey.

"I don't even know your name."

"John Smith. But everyone calls me Doctor. Old nickname of mine." He spoke proudly, fixing his bow tie.

"Alright then, _Doctor_. I'm still not going to invite you in though- but thanks for helping me! Bye." And before the Doctor could react any further, the door closed right in front of his face.

"But.. Maggie always invited me in." He whined with a knock on the door. How on earth could someone so small be so rude. "What about Mr. Dodgers?" The Doctor knocked again as something hit him. He still didn't know _her_ name. "Oi, short girl! I don't even know your name!"

On the other side of the door, Clara rolled her eyes in frustration. Was this man going to bother her everyday like this? She unlocked the door again, opening it slightly to poke her head out.

"Clara. My name is Clara Oswald" The woman poked at his chest. "Now back off and leave me to unpack." And the door was closed once again.

"Clara Oswald." The Doctor spoke to himself. The name rolled off his tongue effortlessly and despite the somewhat horrible first meeting, he found himself smiling.

She didn't look like Maggie at all. Maggie was tall, kind of lanky and of course older. Clara on the other hand was short and dare he say it without sounding like a creep? Curvy in the perfect areas. That dress of hers fit her well. And while Maggie had green eyes, Clara had beautiful brown doe eyes. They were the first thing he noticed when he saw her. And her funny nose, of course. Although it wasn't really all that funny, just ridiculously adorable.

Then there was all that sas he had yet to see more of.

The Doctor sighed. At this point, he knew for certain that she wasn't going to let him in so he obliged and went to his own place after a long day at work.

Clara was still not sure what to think of John Smith. But as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, he was handsome. Regardless of his peculiar sense of fashion.

A bowtie and a purple tweed? She shook her head with a slight giggle, her eyes soon roaming her new flat.

It wasn't actually her flat, it was still her aunt's flat, Clara was just borrowing it until she could find a place of her own. Her aunt had gone away on a trip around the world with the ambition of "finding her true self" and "do some soul searching". Now if you'd ask Clara, she would more likely reply with "a midlife crisis". Either way, she was extremely happy and appreciative that her aunt had gladly thrown the keys at her niece. Clara was 27 after all and was more than trustworthy. And what good would the flat do standing empty for a year or two since Margaret refused to sell it. It was a beautiful flat after all.

As she stepped into the hall she could see an open living room and immediately got a warm and cozy feeling. All the walls were painted a beautifully luscious crimson red. The only wall painted in another colour was the whole back wall of the living room and dining area, which was painted white.

Not like it really would have mattered though, the whole wall was just huge windows letting the sun in and filling the whole flat with the midday light.

Right around the corner to the right of the hall was a place that looked like a working area, completed with a desk and a few bookshelves. Clara smiled at all the books piled up after one another. She ran a finger against the spine of the books. There was everything from the Oxford Dictionary and Shakespeare to cooking books and cliché teenage romances. There was also a door to the bathroom to the right, that contained a big bathtub, a shower and a washer.

She walked further into the flat and came to a big open space. The kitchen was to the left and moving down to the back wall of windows, was a dining table for four. There were also two sofas and a big flat screen telly, all in that open space. If there was a dream flat for Clara, this was definitely it. The flat was impressive, but the thing that really caught her eyes was the bay window with a cozy window sill full of pillows.

"I'll definitely make use of that." Clara mumbled to herself with a smile.

Opening the door to the bedroom, she peeked inside. There seemed to be a door leading out to a balcony along with the great big windows. And the bed was, surprisingly enough, quite simple and plain. King-sized and covered in white.

Clara walked into the room and opened a lonely door and did she thank the stars for the empty walk in closet. "I don't think I ever want to leave this place."

She threw herself on the bed. "This is heaven." Taking a deep content breath, she closed her eyes and felt every tense muscle in her body relax after a long day of stressing. Clara didn't realise exactly how much she had been in need to get away from Blackpool until this very moment.

Nothing could ruin this evening for her. _This is great, I'll finally get some peace of mind. _Nothing, absolutely nothing.

_Cling cling cling_

"What the.."

"_Oi, Clara!"_

She spoke too soon. The petite brunette sat up and looked at the window. Her eyes widened when she saw a stick poking the glass.

"_Oi!"_

Clara stood up and went to the balcony door, annoyance visible on her pretty face as she peeked her head out of the door. She was greeted by a happy Doctor with a mop in his hands, reaching all the way to her balcony. He just stood there with a ridiculous grin plastered on his face while Clara just stared at him.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?!"

"Interacting with my new neighbour!" He exclaimed excitedly, poking at the woman with the long stick. "Isn't this wonderful? Look, our balconies are right next to each other!"

She continued to stare.

"Yes, I can see that."

"Ha! Bop." He poked her again.

And that was the moment Clara knew she wasn't going to get any peace of mind.


	2. Honey Honey

**Chapter 2 - Honey Honey**

_Back to present time_

_[The Doctor grumpily mumbled something incoherent, before waving his hand off in annoyance in the direction Clara had been standing just a few seconds ago. "Impossible." Mumbling to himself again, he closed the door to his own flat. That girl was just impossible.]_

Leaning against the wall he sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. That girl could really take a walk on his nerves. There have been nothing but fighting on the 4th floor since she moved in and the Doctor was not at all used to this type of woman.

There's just something about her, something feisty and sassy. A fiery passion. He often found himself smiling while thinking of her.

Although, he couldn't help but feel guilty for all the fighting, because who else but the Doctor would enjoy provoking Clara Oswald. Being the feisty woman she is, Clara would always respond with that sas of hers. And for some odd reason, maybe a strange fetish he didn't know of, the only thing he could think about when the petite brunette was in her moments of anger was how cute she looked scolding him with furrowed brows.

The Doctor always found himself wanting her attention. He quite liked seeing that passion of hers. Whether it was her getting angry at him or when he found her sitting in the coffee shop down the street grading papers.

But don't get him wrong, the Doctor could throw a cow at Clara sometimes. Their fights were usually "under control", but from time to time the two of them would start a riot up there. They barely knew each other, yet they seemed to know exactly what to set the other one off.

He sighed yet again and pulled his shoes off. The lanky man walked into the living room and switched the lights on.

The layout of Clara's and the Doctor's apartments were pretty much identical, except for the fact that they were mirrored. Not like it mattered anyway. But he swore that he could sometimes hear her bump into the wall of her bedroom at night. Maybe she was a sleep walker. Or just a very violent sleeper. That wouldn't be surprising.

Stepping into the closet he undid his bow tie and placed it in one of the small drawers for all his bow ties. They were neatly arranged in size, colour and fabric. He smiled down at them, gave one of them a rapid pat and closed the drawer. As he made his way to the bathroom he began to undress, leaving a trail of clothes after him while whistling the tune to Beyoncé's Single Ladies. He was sort of into Beyoncé lately. Probably Amy's fault.

With a swift motion, he turned on the shower and stepped inside.

* * *

Clara kicked off her shoes angrily, leaving them forgotten by the front door. She really couldn't care less at the moment.

She was tired, outraged and frustrated after being in the presence of a certain Doctor and the only thing that could soothe her right now, or at any other given time- was tea. Tossing her coat on the couch, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before making her way to the kitchen.

"I am so tired of his shit." She mumbled with poison in her voice.

The thing is, she wasn't sure how he could get her so worked up. She wasn't usually like this. In fact- she was often seen as a very tolerant person. Clara used to be a teacher for high schoolers, she knew very well how to put up with people who got on her nerves. Yet, she always seemed to let him get the best of her. And that only set fuel to the fire.

She sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot ever since she got here. Putting the kettle on, she roamed the cupboards for tea and honey.

After a few moments of struggling due to her lack of height, she finally found the tea she wanted but something that still hadn't been in sight was the jar of honey. Clara furrowed her eyebrows and went as low as taking a stool to dig through the cupboards properly.

"No no no no! Please no!" The woman let out a loud groan and the fluffy cat that had been peacefully lying by the window jumped down with a hiss. "Sorry, Dodgers." She shot the cat an apologetic look and almost as if he understood, he gave her what looked like a nod before he trotted into the bedroom to continue his slumber.

"Ugh, why does everything have to mess up tonight."

It was official.

She was out of honey.

Clara looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. It was already getting late and she really didn't feel like driving all the way to the store. Or walk for that matter.

Which lead her to one choice.

"Oh no no, I already sunk as low as taking a stool to look for the bloody honey." She stood face down with her head on the counter. At this point, she was very well aware that she was arguing loudly with herself and if the people in the building across the street could hear her, they were probably conemplating whether they should call the mental hospital or not.

"Fine. I will ask. But only this once. It's getting late. I'll take the honey and leave. No harm done."

She sucked in a breath of courage. Tea was important to her. And honey in her tea was even more important- and if she had to face the mongrel himself to get it, she would.

She tried to calm down as she made her way towards the door to not risk getting so worked up by his stupid face. She didn't even bother putting her shoes back on, they were the only people on the floor anyway.

Her legs almost hestitantly carried her out of her flat and into the hallway and towards the door next to hers. Clara was just going to ask for honey and quickly dash back into her flat before he could open his stupid mouth and utter another stupid comment.

Taking another breath, she gingerly knocked on the door.

She waited a few seconds and got no answer. Impatiently, she rang the door bell.

* * *

"If you like it then you should've put a ring on it oh oh oh OHOHOHOOOW-"

_Ring Ring Ring_

The Doctor stopped dead in his one man show and waited half a second to decide whether to leave the person at the door or to get out and answer it. It could potentially, _hopefully_, be Clara Oswald afterall.

He quickly jumped out and started for the bathroom door when he realised he was completely naked, and wet for that matter. He threw himself after a towel and wrapped it sloppily around his waist as he hurried to the front door.

Just before opening the door, he tried to calm down and look as cool as possible.

The door swung open and revealed a half naked, dripping wet Doctor with a, dare she say, surprisingly impressive torso. She stared, almost blushing, as the Doctor cocked an eyebrow at the sight of her. Regaining her senses, she spoke the one word she had in mind.

"Honey."

Neither of them said anything until the Doctor showed a crooked smile. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. He spoke with an incredibly obvious sense of mischief.

"Yes, honey?"

Clara's face went all eyes.

"No! No, not _that_ honey! No- honey! The sweet honey-"

"I can be your sweet honey, honey." He flashed her a dashing smile.

"NO, stop it! Sweet honey, bee honey, tea honey-" She spoke rather quickly like she always found herself doing when she was nervous. "Honey honey!"

"Oooh." The Doctor showed a face of realisation and laughed. "Bee honey, honey honey. _That_ honey." The Doctor nodded and Clara exhaled.

When neither of them had spoken nor shown any sign of movement for a moment Clara furrowed her brows at the man. She made a movement, trying to signal a question of _what are you doing?_ The man furrowed his brows in return while making his own movement of _what do you mean?_

"The honey. May I have some?" Clara explained while tapping her foot.

"Oooh, right!" The Doctor exclaimed and Clara nodded. She couldn't help looking at his bare torso. His big, wet chest muscles were after all, right at her eye level. With a grin, he replied.

"No."

"No?!"

A few seconds passed while the chin boy's grin grew wider and wider.

"You may have some honey for your tea, _honey_, but only if you'd have that cup of tea with me."

Clara stood, dumbfounded. Chin boy had an awfully annoying triumphant look on his face.

"Forget it."

Clara turned on her heel and walked back to her flat. The man smiled at her stubborness, but didn't doubt for one second. The door to Clara's home was shut with a slam, but he still didn't move an inch from his doorframe. He looked at the puddle he'd made on the floor when the door to Clara's flat opened again. The Doctor looked up and as he expected, she came back. But this time with a cup in her hand. She closed the door to her flat and went straight to his, determined to get her tea with honey.

"Fine." She growled as she walked past him, stepping in his puddle. She groaned and looked at him.

"Whoops."

* * *

The Doctor's flat had a completely different feel to it. Instead of the warm colours of crimson, mahogany and cream like in aunt Margaret's home, the place had a clean look of white, navy blue and light grey.

Clara scanned his home while he prepared the tea in the kitchen. The first thing she'd noticed upon entering the flat was the trail of clothes on the floor, which chin boy had quickly picked up. She was happy to see the amount of books in the shelves, but was surprised when she noticed the unused bay window and the lack of pillows on the window sill.

"Hey!" Whining, she went to stand next to it. The Doctor swirled around to look at her. He raised his eyebrows when she looked up at him.

"Why haven't you used this? Why doesn't it have any pillows? Can't you see its potential?"

The Doctor looked innocent and oblivious as usual but Clara didn't give him a chance to explain himself.

"Come, boil the water and come here." She motioned towards the window sill. "We will drink our tea while sitting here."

"Alright then. If you say so, boss."

The water was ready and he brought it over on a tray along with the cups, the honey and some milk. He placed it on the coffee table and poured the water into the cups while Clara ran around him collecting all the pillows she could find. She even went and fetched all the pillows from his bedroom and placed them on the window sill.

"There, look! Doesn't it look wonderful?"

They choose the tea they wanted and Clara finally got her honey. With the cups in their hands, they sat facing each other on the window sill that was currently overflowing with pillows. It was spacious but they found their legs tangled up in one another in one big mess of limbs either way.

They sat in silence for a while, just sipping their tea, sometimes catching the other staring. An akward tension lingered through the air. Although it was awkward, it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. It was the first time Clara had ever been to his place. Then again, never did she think she ever would. Neither of them had really made any attempts to actually sit down and talk to each other like normal human beings.

All they've ever done is fight and quarrel, whether it was on the street, in the store, in the lobby, the elevator- oh, the elevator ride was always such a mess- or on the 4th floor.

"Why are you having tea with me?"

The man shrugged and spoke softly.

"Interacting with my _new_ neighbour."

Clara looked down into her cup and smiled.

"We've been complete idiots, haven't we?"

"Yeah. Well, it's been a lot more excitement in the building since you got here." He snickered and locked his eyes with hers.

Clara raised an eyebrow suggestively. "You act like it's all my fault"

"It obviously is all your fault, it was nice and quiet before you came."

She kicked him. Hard.

"Oi! That actually hurt!"

"Just like you to spoil a moment!"

"Come on, Clara! I'm just fibbling with you."

Clara eyed him suspiciously while he raised his cup to his lips. He took another sip of his tea and mumbled into the cup. "Just pulling one of those short legs of yours."

The petite brunette nearly spilled his tea as she gave his leg a second hard kick.

After the minor fight, they both eventually calmed down. They continued to talk about anything and random things. He explained all about his relationship with aunt Margaret, or Maggie as he prefers to call her, and her cat Mr. Dodgers. He said that Dodgers and he had "a special something".

She told him about her hometown and the reasons, except for getting the job, for why she moved. They shared childhood stories and dreams and even deeper things like their hopes and plans for the future. Naturally, they couldn't talk without at least teasing or insulting one another every ten minutes or so but in the end, it wasn't that bad. Not bad at all.

They managed to drink four servings of tea and time just flew by. The two sat now in a comfortable silence. The sun slowly setting and although they couldn't quite see it behind the mass of buildings, the low orange light of the sunset lit up the entire place beautfully.

The Doctor watched from the corner of his eyes, she seemed so relax as she leaned her head against the wall and watched the people on the street. He too turned his attention to the window. The once green leaves were now the colour of autumn and he watched leaf after leaf escape the tree branch and fly where the wind took them.

It was so peaceful.

He placed his cup on the tray. "Clara?" The Doctor saw her head turn and strangely enough, he could feel his heart speed up. It was just the way she looked at him. She looked calm and peaceful. Her brown eyes looked like two roasted chestnuts and he was immedietly reminded of Christmas.

Clara was like Christmas. Or more so, a christmas gift. He'd spend days poking and watching her in hope to find out what's inside and it was all just so exciting.

The Doctor flashed her a gentle smile. "This is actually quite nice."

"Yeah. It is." She whispered, a shy smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

_God. That dimple._ He swallowed hard.

"You're not that bad once you keep your mouth shut and give me tea." A giggle escaped her, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Oh, I see. Just using me for my tea and honey, are we?"

"Hmm... maybe."

"Really?"

"Really."

What they hadn't noticed was how the both of them had inched closer with each word.

Clara's breath hitched as she felt the Doctor's breath brush against her lips. It was just a few inches. Maybe 2 or 3. She could easily just close the barely visible gap between them.

So she did.

The Doctor's eyes shot open in surprise, but it didn't take long for him to relax into the kiss. Their lips moved effortlessly against each other, savouring every little tingling feeling as the seconds ticked by. He wasn't sure what was happening, all he could think about was the delicious taste of cinnamon and apple tea on her lips along with something else he could only point out as Clara herself.

She sneaked her arms around his neck, only pulling him closer with her lips still glued to his. It was bliss. She was in complete and utter bliss.

With a man she fought daily.


End file.
